Sniffing the trade-off: Effects of eel odours on nocturnal foraging activity of native and introduced crayfish juveniles

Hirvonen, Heikki; Holopainen, Saila; Lempiäinen, Netta K.; Selin, Marita; Tulonen, Jouni

doi:10.1080/10236240701556919

Cited by 16 publications

(15 citation statements)

References 12 publications

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“…Finally, adult crayfish might recognize, more easily than small individuals, eels as predators, even though they have never had experience with them, and may display an efficient anti-predatory behaviour, such as sheltering. Indeed, in the presence of odours from food deprived eels, predator-naïve juveniles of another invasive species, Pacifastacus leniusculus, were found to reduce the use of shelters and to increase their foraging activity, whereas an opposite response was shown by juveniles of the native Astacus astacus, a species that has a long co-evolutionary history with eels in Finland, where this experiment was done (Hirvonen et al 2007). On the contrary, as shown by Hazlett et al (2002), adults of P. clarkii are able to associate the odour of a novel fish species even if herbivorous, e.g.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Biological control of invasive populations of crayfish: the European eel (Anguilla anguilla) as a predator of Procambarus clarkii

et al. 2010

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The red swamp crayfish, Procambarus clarkii, is a paradigmatic invader of freshwater systems. Several attempts have been made to mitigate its multiple impacts but none was successful. Among the different methods proposed, the use of the European eel (Anguilla anguilla) as an indigenous predator is promising but the available information about its predatory ability on crayfish is to date scanty. To fill this gap in knowledge, we ran three experiments in wetlands and irrigation ditches in Italy. The first experiment, in the laboratory, was aimed at quantifying the extent of predation by eels on crayfish, the second, in enclosures, the size classes of crayfish mainly preyed and the possible effect of the eels on P. clarkii behaviour, and the third, in the field, its ability to effectively reduce crayfish populations. Results showed that eels prey on small-sized or soft crayfish, attacking them from the back; an indirect effect was to reduce crayfish trophic activity, which in turn might increases crayfish mortality due to starvation and decreases impact on the community. However, as shown in the field, the use of eels should be appropriately calibrated to the context of application. Taken together, our results show that eels might be used as a complement to the traditional trapping method. However, additional studies are necessary to understand the adequate number of eels to be introduced and to develop appropriate methods for quantifying such effects.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Biological control of invasive populations of crayfish: the European eel (Anguilla anguilla) as a predator of Procambarus clarkii

et al. 2010

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“…The responses of juveniles to A. anguilla agree with the results of Hart (1993, 1995). However, Hirvoven et al (2007) found that exposure to A. anguilla odour did the reverse; juveniles spent more time foraging outside a shelter. They attributed this response to a lack of recognition of A. anguilla in predator-naı¨ve juveniles.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 86%

“…The only studies with Pa. leniusculus have been on predator-naive juveniles exposed to eels (Anguilla anguilla) and perch (Perca fluviatilis). Blake and Hart (1993) found that both species chemically stimulate avoidance behaviour as they spend more time in shelter and less time walking, whilst Hirvoven et al (2007) found that they increased foraging activity and reduced shelter use. Finally, we investigated if adults also respond to odours 184 P.D.…”

Section: The Response To Disturbance Chemicals and Predator Odours Ofmentioning

confidence: 97%

The response to disturbance chemicals and predator odours of juvenile and adult signal crayfishPacifastacus leniusculus(Dana)

Stebbing

Watson

Bentley

2010

Marine and Freshwater Behaviour and Physiology

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Many species of crayfish have been shown to use disturbance chemicals to detect the presence of predators and other dangers, yet there have been no investigations in adults or juveniles of Pacifastacus leniusculus, a key species, particularly for invasive species study. Juveniles and adults were exposed to conditioned water from stressed and damaged conspecific males. Both responded to these odours, but did not respond to water from stressed or damaged males with blocked nephropores. Urine from stressed and damaged males also elicited a significant response, which was much stronger than that of conditioned water. Odours from urine and water of damaged individuals induced a greater response than stress odours. We propose that chemicals released by stressed or damaged Pa. leniusculus are the same substance, but quantities released in the urine vary in context-specific circumstances. Predator-odour conditioned water from Perca fluviatilis elicited no response, but conditioned Anguilla anguilla water stimulated significant responses in juveniles and adults. Juveniles exhibited the strongest responses to all odours. These results show that Pa. leniusculus utilises both conspecific and heterospecific sources of info-chemicals to assess risk in the environment, which may contribute to its success as an invasive species and give it a competitive advantage.

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“…Whether larger perch would induce a stronger response only by odours remains to be examined. Another potential explanation for the lack of clear response relates to the normally nocturnal activity of the noble crayfish: usually shelter use increases in daytime and the most pronounced predator-induced shifts in behaviour are observed in darkness (Appelberg et al 1993;Hirvonen et al 2007). In this study, several crayfish stayed outside the shelter also during daytime, which reduced variation in the behavioural variables studied after switching off the lights.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 86%

“…The noble crayfish is a species native to Finland and has a long co-evolutionary history with fish predators such as the Eurasian perch, Perca fluviatilis L. Predator-naïve juvenile noble crayfish increase shelter use and reduce feeding activity when exposed to the chemical cues from predatory fishes such as the perch, the pike, Esox lucius L., the burbot Lota lota L. or the European eel, Anguilla anguilla L. (Appelberg et al 1993;Hirvonen et al 2007). In this study, perch odour and physical disturbance were used to induce/ mimic predation risk.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Boldness as a consistent personality trait in the noble crayfish, Astacus astacus

et al. 2010

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Consistent individual differences in behavioural responses to perceived predation risk may have extensive ecological and evolutionary implications. We studied the repeatability of boldness across time and its relation to resource holding potential in the noble crayfish, Astacus astacus L., using predator-naïve immature individuals. We followed individual's shelter use both with and without exposure to the chemical and physical cues of predators, and with and without the presence of a conspecific. In addition, we examined if armament, i.e. relative chelae size, would be correlated with individual differences in behaviour. Individuals showed repeatable behaviours across time and context. Individuals that occupied the shelter in competitive dyadic tests also spent more time in the shelter during individual control observations, suggesting that boldness is a personality trait that does not necessarily relate positively to high resource holding potential in the noble crayfish. The relative size of chelae did not correlate with any of the measured behavioural variables. Our results suggest that boldness can be considered as individually consistent and ecologically important personality trait in the noble crayfish.

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Sniffing the trade-off: Effects of eel odours on nocturnal foraging activity of native and introduced crayfish juveniles

Cited by 16 publications

References 12 publications

Biological control of invasive populations of crayfish: the European eel (Anguilla anguilla) as a predator of Procambarus clarkii

Biological control of invasive populations of crayfish: the European eel (Anguilla anguilla) as a predator of Procambarus clarkii

The response to disturbance chemicals and predator odours of juvenile and adult signal crayfishPacifastacus leniusculus(Dana)

Boldness as a consistent personality trait in the noble crayfish, Astacus astacus

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